Just Echoes
by OxOx-Megz-OxOx
Summary: Bonnie was alone on the other side, until he came along.


It was the day Jeremy lost touch with the other side that was the worst. They'd both known it would happen eventually, but neither had ever imagined it would happen so soon. It had been two weeks since Bonnie's death, and she'd spent every day and night by Jeremy's side. He was her last connection to home, and her friends. She still had her grams, but she was finding it hard to communicate with her anymore, they kept losing each other. So she stayed with Jeremy. She hadn't wanted to lose him too.

But she had, in the end. And then she was alone.

Being on the other side, it was . . . nothing like she'd imagined. It was worse. So much worse. It was like being stuck behind a thick layer of glass constantly. She could see her friends, even hear them, but they couldn't see her. All she could do was watch. She couldn't interfere, and she couldn't communicate. She watched her friends live out the life she was never going to have. Elena, Caroline, Matt, Jeremy.

Elena and Caroline went off to college, and got a room together, just like they said they would. Except it wasn't a triple room. It never would be a triple room, not anymore. They made new friends, and actually managed to attend most of their classes. They met some cute boys, but Elena was with Damon now, so she wasn't too interested. Caroline on the other hand, was no longer with Tyler, so she wasn't _completely _ignoring the other boys' advances. Bonnie liked to give her opinion on all of them, though she knew no one could hear her. It was just a way to pass the time, if nothing else.

Jeremy went back to high school, after Elena came up with a very elaborate lie as to how he was still alive. At first, he was upset, as he couldn't talk to Bonnie anymore, and she felt the same way. Then he met a girl called Megan. Bonnie knew that he was moving on, even before he did. But it was okay. It wasn't like they had a chance anymore anyway. She was just happy that _he _was happy. And she knew Megan made him happy.

Matt was still travelling the world with Rebekah. It was harder for Bonnie to find them, as they moved around so much. Still, she did watch them sometimes. It brought a smile to her face, to see how happy he was. Even if it was with Rebekah. She wasn't a bad person though, not deep down. Any fool could see that. She wanted to change, she wanted to be a better person, and not just for Matt. Bonnie respected that. She knew what it was like to want to change, but have no one with enough faith in you to let you try.

She even watched Damon sometimes. When she got bored, or everyone else was asleep. She'd watch him. He'd be sat at a windowsill, or wandering through the woods. Just thinking. She'd never know what he thought about on those nights, on those walks. She wasn't sure she wanted to. It was far too personal, far too private. And it was none of her business. It was just peaceful, to walk beside him, and get lost in thoughts of her own. To be so close, but never touching. Just glad of the company. And although he couldn't see or hear her, she felt closer to him on those nights than anyone else.

For the first time in a long time, they were happy.

They found Stefan in the lake about a month after Jeremy lost touch with her. Damon had noticed something was off with Silas-Stefan, and had eventually figured it out. They'd called one of their most powerful witch friends, and fished Stefan out of the lake. While they had still not been able to kill Silas, they'd gotten close. He was now turned to stone again, and they were looking for a way to kill him properly soon.

The day Stefan came back was the day that they all found out she was dead. That was even worse.

Everybody went round to Elena's house, and Stefan told them. Jeremy pretended not to know, but they saw right through him. Still, he told them it had been Bonnie's wishes that he not tell them, so they forgave him. Elena must have cried for hours. Straight after Stefan told them, she ran up to her room, and wouldn't come out. The only person she let in was Damon, and he just sat there and held her. Bonnie was pretty sure she even saw _him _shed a single tear.

Caroline drove home and called Klaus, which had come as quite a surprise to Bonnie. She told him she wanted him to take her away, to New Orleans. She said she needed a break from everything, and that the only way she was going to get that was with him. A few days after they'd been told about Bonnie's death, she said goodbye to her friends, and got on the first train to New Orleans. Once there, she'd cried for the first time, and Klaus had held her in his arms. That was when it really hit Bonnie how much he cared for her. Even monsters like him had a heart.

Bonnie couldn't believe it. She'd wanted them to be happy, wanted them not to worry anymore. She thought if she just disappeared with a good excuse, that nobody would notice, nobody would _care._ But her death had been the thing to tear them all apart.

* * *

It was years later, when someone spoke to her again. Everyone had moved on from her death, and was getting on with their lives. They were happy again, and Bonnie was happy for them. Her grams had moved on a few years ago, now that there was nothing left for her on Earth. And Bonnie was left. Alone again. She didn't mind it so much anymore, the watching. Although there were moments when it became so unbearable that she couldn't touch them, talk to them, that she wanted to scream.

"I never said you know, how sorry I was,"

She recognized that voice, she knew she did. She couldn't place it at first, but she knew it had been many years since she'd first heard it. And it still sent shivers down her spine. Then it hit her. She knew she should be afraid, but really, what could he do to her now? She was already dead, and so was he. Sure he could talk to her, he could touch her, but it didn't really go beyond that. She could no longer feel any pain, so it wasn't like he could do any real damage.

It was a day like any other, and she was sat, on a rooftop in New Orleans, looking down at the city below. She brought her knees up to her chest, and hugged herself tight, as she watched. Caroline and Klaus were at a parade, watching the dancers in their fancy costumes make their way down the street. Caroline had a bright, wide smile on her face, and Klaus was smiling too. She'd had such a good effect on him in the past few years, and Bonnie couldn't be happier for the two of them. But sometimes she wished she could be happy like _that _again.

He sat down beside her on the rooftop, so close his shoulder was touching hers. If she were still alive, if it were under any other circumstances, she probably would have run a mile. But she could talk to him. She could talk to him, and he could hear her. He could touch her, and she could touch him. She'd been alone now for so long, having any kind of communication was a blessing.

Even if it came in the form of Kol Mikaelson.

"About your death, I mean," he explained, and Bonnie turned to him, confused. He'd changed so much since she last saw him. He looked younger, somehow. His hair was a lot darker, but his eyes were a lot brighter. He was incredibly fresh-faced, and was dressed in just a t-shirt and jeans. Even his aura was different. There was still an air of mystery around him, but it was being overpowered by something else, something stronger. "I never thought it'd be you. You were always the strongest, you know?"

Bonnie didn't say anything, just turned to look back out at the city. She brushed some hair behind her ear, and brought her knees closer to her.

"Hey, you gonna talk at all, or just leave a fella to talk to himself like some kind of lunatic?" Kol asked, nudging her with his elbow. He smirked, and Bonnie couldn't help but give a small smile. He nudged her again, and she laughed - something she hadn't done in a _long _time. So long, she didn't even think she could remember.

She knew how wrong it was, sitting there with him, talking to him, laughing with him, but she couldn't help it. She hadn't spoken to anyone in so long, and she was tired of being alone. So what if she wanted to talk to him? There was no one and nothing to stop her now, nothing.

"What happened to you, Kol? Why've I not seen you on the other side before?" Bonnie asked, turning to face him. She crossed her legs on the rooftop, and brushed her hair to the side, looking down at her hands. He continued to face the city, stretching his legs out across the roof.

"I've been . . . around," he replied, his tone distant. "Just watching my misfit siblings mostly. Niklaus, Elijah, and of course our dear, sweet Rebekah. It astounds me how much I didn't know about them, while I was alive. Then again, Niklaus never kept me out of that stupid box long enough. I can't really blame him though. I wasn't really the type of company that people wanted back then."

"You're saying that you're different now?"

"I'd like to think so," he said, a small smile forming on his lips. Not a smirk, or an evil grin, a genuine smile. But it was tainted with sadness. "We're not the same people Bonnie, no matter how much we pretend. We'll never be the same. The people that we were are dead, and they're not coming back. We're not them, and we never will be. We're just echoes, shells. We're ghosts. We're invisible. We're nothing. But that doesn't mean we can't try. Try to be better, try to be more than that.

All this time I've spent, watching my siblings . . . it's made me think about the life I could've had. If I hadn't spent so much time ranting and raving about revenge, maybe I could've had what they've got. Maybe I could've been happy. I never was you know, happy. Not truly. I never really made the time. I wasted my time, really. I thought I had all the time in the world."

"You were immortal."

"No one can live forever, Bonnie. Nature wouldn't allow it. We all have to die sometime, whether we like it or not." Kol explained, and Bonnie couldn't believe how much he'd changed. It didn't make sense that the man sitting beside her could be the same person who'd tried to kill her and her friends so many times, all those years ago. It just didn't seem quite right. "I might have changed, but it won't make any difference now. I missed my chance. And I'd give anything to have a second one. But I can't. So I suppose I've just got to get on with it."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Now?" he repeated, and seemed to be thinking about it, considering his options. "Now, I suppose I'm just going to wait. I'll stay a little while longer, make sure everyone's alright, and then I'll go. When I'm ready, and on my terms. So I guess you're stuck with me for a little while longer, Bennett."

* * *

Kol sat with her for the rest of that day. And the day after that. And the day after that. Pretty soon, Bonnie stopped counting the days, and they just fell into a familiar pattern. And although she tried to convince herself that she was only staying with him because she didn't want to be alone, it soon became more than that. He was a different person now, that much was obvious. But she still couldn't - wouldn't allow herself to love him. Even though it eventually became clear that he had feelings for her. She pretended to be oblivious to it.

But she stayed. And that mattered more to him than he could even express.

The day that they passed over, was a completely ordinary day, just the same as all the others. The sun was shining, and everyone was happy. They were sat on their roof top in New Orleans, looking up at the clouds in the sky. Their hands were intertwined, which was now becoming a familiar action between the two of them. They'd never really talked about their feelings for each other, but they didn't really have to. They had time for that, anyway. They had eternity, on the other side.

Bonnie could see the sunlight dancing on her skin, but she couldn't feel its warmth. She hadn't for years. There was no air going into her lungs, and she couldn't smell any of the food being cooked out on the street down below. The only thing that she _could _feel, that she knew for certain, the only thing that felt real, and _solid, _was Kol's hand in hers.

And as they lay there, something changed. And they just knew.

Bonnie turned her head to look at him, and he looked right back at her. Brown eyes clashed, and they smiled. And no words were needed, they both knew what was happening, and what it meant. A feeling of warmth spread across her body, and for one moment, she could feel everything again. The air rushed into her lungs, and the sunlight warmed her skin.

This was it. After all this time, all those years of waiting. They'd finally achieved what they were looking for. Peace.

And as they lay together, they smiled, closing their eyes. The light was blinding, but there was no pain. And there never would be again. That feeling of emptiness, of incompleteness, would soon be gone. Forever. The whole of eternity stretched out in front of them, and it was brilliant. They kept their hands intertwined, and their eyes closed. The cold, hard stone of the rooftop began to fade away with all of their surroundings, and for a while, there was nothing.

And then there was everything.

Just like that.


End file.
